Rural Families and Communities in the United States: Facing Challenges and Leveraging Opportunities

This book examines the implications of rural residence for adolescents and families in the United States, addressing both the developmental and mental health difficulties they face. Special attention is given to the unique circumstances of minority families residing in rural areas and how these families navigate challenges as well as their sources of resilience. Chapters describe approaches for enhancing the well-being of rural minority youth and their families. In addition, chapters discuss the challenges of conducting research within rural populations and propose new frameworks for studying these diverse communities. Finally, the volume offers recommendations for reducing the barriers to health and positive development in rural settings.

Featured topics include:

• Changes in work and family structures in the rural United States.
• Rural job loss to offshoring and automation.
• The opioid crisis in the rural United States.
• Prosocial behaviors in rural U.S. Latino/a youth.
• Demographic changes across nonmetropolitan areas.

Rural Families and Communities in the United States is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, professionals, and graduate students in developmental psychology, family studies, public health as well as numerous interrelated disciplines, including sociology, demography, social work, prevention science, educational policy, political science, and economics.

Jennifer E. Glick, Ph.D., is Arnold S. and Betty G. Hoffman Professor in Sociology and Director of the Population Research Institute at Penn State.

Susan M. McHale, Ph.D., is Director of the Social Science Research Institute and Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Professor of Demography at Penn State.

Valarie King, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Human Development and Family Studies and Associate Head of the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State.